No more shows for Karen Walker at New York Fashion Week

4 September 2016
By Fashion Quarterly

Karen Walker - Backstage - Spring 2016 New York Fashion Week

Karen Walker will no longer be showing her collections at New York Fashion Week.

After 10 years of showing at the bi-annual show, the legendary Kiwi designer has decided to opt out of the prestigious event, as she no longer believes it to be the best marketing tool.

Walker said the industry had changed to the point where it didn’t make sense to show her collections because consumers could see them on social media, but were then forced to wait six months before they were able to buy, the Weekend Australian reports.

“Today your end-consumer is seeing the looks on social media, before the last girl has even left the runway.

“As a marketing spend, it just doesn’t add up. The industry is very different to what it was 20 seasons ago. It’s very different to how it was 30 seconds ago. There is so much available in the marketing toolkit now,” she told the Weekend Australian.

While she’s stepping down from the catwalk, the Karen Walker brand will continue to find innovative ways to keep the attention of her global fan base.

The focus will be on creating compelling imagery and video for social media and online, as well as featuring smaller trans-seasonal collections.

“Ten years ago, doing shows was one of the few ways you could show up. Now there’s a million different ways to show up, so use whatever works for your brand. It’s about choice.”

 

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